Brooklyn /
There is nothing that prevents the US prosecutor’s office from seeking the death penalty for Ismael Zambada García, Mayas detailed during the former capo’s first hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
The reason is that the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel was not handed over by the Mexican government, but kidnapped and handed over to federal agents of that country by Joaquín Guzmán Lópezson of El Chapoin a clandestine operation.
“Is there any extradition impediment to requesting the death penalty?” he asked. the judge
“No,” responded the prosecutor.
It was also detailed that among the accumulation of evidence against Zambada are “recordings, seizure records, interceptions” and that, due to the relevance of the case, “secret hearings” are expected to be held.
Although the case has been compared with that of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, It has the difference that it includes accusations of fentanyl trafficking and criminal offenses from the 1980s to 2024. The fentanyl accusation is what can drive the request for the death penalty against May.
During yesterday’s hearing, while his defense appeared before the judge Brian CoganZambada asked: “Shall I stop?” To which his lawyer, Frank Pérez, responded: “Sit down.”
The judge set the next hearing for January 15, 2025, after ensuring that this will “definitely be a long process.”
Zambada He arrived at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn more recovered, with long hair combed back and a thick gray beard. Still limping and dressed in beige, he faced his first hearing after being charged with 17 counts related to his leadership of the Sinaloa cartel.
Cogan considered the case complex, due to the seriousness of the accusations and the dangerousness of the accused.
The US prosecutor’s office confirmed that May is under more restrictive surveillance at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, known as “special administrative measures,” which were also imposed on El Chapo.
Unprecedented
Javier Olivaresearcher and professor at UNAM, clarified that so far no Mexican has been sentenced to capital punishment for drug trafficking.
“I see such a sentence as unlikely, but we know that the US criminal system does not always follow the logic of what the accusation and the accused imply,” he explained in an interview with Cecilia Salamanca for MILLENNIUM Television.
He even pointed out that if this were the case there would be a controversy between the federal authorities of that country and those of New York, since this punishment has been repealed in this state.
